11:55 AM,
Sep. 29, 2013

Reed High School students participate in their graduation ceremony in June at Lawlor Events Center.

Written by

the Reno Gazette-Journal Editorial Board

If Nevada boosted its male high school graduation rate by 5 percentage points, it could save $215 million in crime-fighting costs each year.

That's the finding of a report put out this month by the Washington, D.C.-based policy group Alliance for Excellent Education. It focused on male graduates because men are far more likely to commit crimes.

The report is called "Saving Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and Earnings." A 10 percent increase in the male graduation rate, it says, "would reduce murder and assault arrest rates by about 20 percent, motor ...